The 2019 Business for Peace Honourees who are delivering opportunities for women, minorities and diverse and disadvantaged groups

The Oslo Business for Peace Award is given to inspiring business leaders around the globe who have accomplished extraordinary things. The award honours ambassadors of businessworthy values, who are shaping society for the better.

The 2019 recipients are: Dr Agbor Ashumanyi Ako, co-founder of GiftedMom, Alice Laugher, the CEO of CTG (Committed to Good) and Hamdi Ulukaya, the founder and CEO of Chobani.

These three leaders are at the helm of companies which have a broader view than just the bottom line and see business as a tool for change. As individuals, they look at the world around them and work to improve it.

“The 2019 Honourees have managed to create enterprises with a significant social impact, exemplifying outstanding business contributions to society. In a world of imbalance, they have taken the initiative to establish and grow businesses that offer opportunities to women, minorities, diverse and disadvantaged groups”, comments Business for Peace Founder, Per L. Saxegaard. “These three celebrated individuals have worked tirelessly to counteract inequalities, encouraging inclusion and democratising access to health, aid, and work. Through their businesses, they promote human rights, contribute to sustaining peace and help build environments in which human potential can flourish.”

Dr Agbor Ashumanyi Ako

Agbor Ashumanyi Ako is one of the co-founders of GiftedMom, a digital health platform based in Cameroon that gives pregnant women and mothers across Africa access to vital health information and care. As a digital-first platform, GiftedMom is able to expand faster than traditional health care systems and the start-up aims to reach 10 million women in the next 10 years. Started by Alain Nteff and Doctor Tankou Conrad in 2012, the platform now has over 170,000 users. The award-winning app has significantly improved both pregnancy check-up attendance and vaccination turnouts, with an ultimate goal to see a world free of preventable maternal and infant deaths.

Dr Agbor enthuses, “This recognition is a symbol to show that there is progress in the right direction for the company GiftedMom. It comes as a reminder of the mission ahead. Being nominated by experts from the United Nations Development Programme Business Call to Action community and selected by former Nobel Peace Prize laureates is an indication of how the work GiftedMom is doing provides a global solution to help solve today’s challenges.”

Alice Laugher

Alice Laugher is the CEO of CTG, Committed to Good, which provides employment and logistics services to development and relief programmes in fragile and conflict-affected countries. From running Ebola treatment clinics in Liberia, to food distribution in Afghanistan and South Sudan, monitoring and assisting refugees in Libya, and rebuilding government constitution in Somalia, the work of CTG is as diverse as our world’s issues.

British-born Laugher is a vocal advocate for the Sustainable Development Agenda, with a particular focus on gender equality. She is passionate about CTG being a force for good and creating economic opportunities for women in war-torn regions through CTG’s initiative Female First, which pledges that 30% of project-related roles are represented by women by 2030. She explains: “At CTG, we’ve made empowering women through humanitarian employment in conflict-affected regions our focus. This award, this incredible recognition for our commitment, strengthens our determinations that we are moving in the right direction. I hope it will inspire business leaders, both women and men, to believe that their commitments to change and peace – no matter how small or large in scale – are the only way forward.”

Hamdi Ulukaya

Hamdi Ulukaya is the founder and CEO of Chobani, the company behind the number one Greek yoghurt in America. Today, Chobani has over 2,000 employees in the United States, 30 percent of which are legally resettled immigrants and refugees. Ulukaya has created a corporate culture in which everyone is welcome and has an opportunity to thrive with innovative profit-sharing and parental leave programmes. Ulukaya has also taken a leadership role in the global business community to encourage action from the private sector to tackle the global refugee crisis.

Turkish-born Ulukaya comments: “I’m very humbled by this honor, and I’m proud to accept it on behalf of the women and men of team Chobani. This new way of business–where companies focus on people and not just profits, try to make the world a little bit better–should be at the heart of every modern company. As CEOs we don’t need to have more, we need to do more. When we see an injustice, we need to speak out. When we have tools and resources to solve problems, we have to use them.”

About the Award

The Oslo Business for Peace Award is given out annually to exemplary business leaders who apply their business energy ethically and responsibly, creating economic and societal value. Winners are selected by an independent committee of Nobel Prize winners in Peace and in Economics after a global nomination process through the International Chamber of Commerce, United Nations Global Compact, United Nations Development Programme, and Principles for Responsible Investment. The Award Committee consists of Ouided Bouchamaoui (Tunisia), Leymah Gbowee (Liberia), Finn Kydland (Norway), and Eric Maskin (USA). The committee evaluated the nominees on the criteria of being a role model to society and their peers, having earned trust by stakeholders, and standing out as an advocate.

Upcoming Award Ceremony

The three winners will receive the Award in a ceremony at Oslo City Hall on 15 May 2019 as part of the annual Business for Peace Summit.

Business for Peace is pleased to share the programme for the 2019 Summit: Navigating in a World of Imbalance. The Summit aims to provide businessworthy leaders with the knowledge, inspiration, actions and the networks necessary to effectively create social impact through their work.

The Summit will explore different perspectives of imbalances and which role technology and investment can play, all with the objective to identify tangible actions for business leaders. Through deeper understanding of the challenges and through cross-sector conversations, the Summit will offer insight and actionable ideas for how business leaders and investors can play a greater role in driving an inclusive and prosperous future for all.

On March 20, we will announce who will receive the 2019 Oslo Business for Peace Award. Following a global nomination process through our partners, the International Chamber of Commerce, Principles for Responsible Investment, UN Development Programme, and UN Global Compact, our Award Committee of Nobel Laureates has made its selection.

Tune into our livestream on 20 March at 9:00 CET for the announcement.

Hear from Raymond Johansen, Governing Mayor of Oslo, Per Saxegaard, Board Chair of Business for Peace, and Fiona Reynolds, CEO of Principles for Responsible Investment, as they share the news.

This year, Business for Peace has launched an afterwork series with MESH in Oslo. Following our first events, The Future of Cities and The Future of Climate Leadership we’re happy to announce our third afterwork talk, The Future of Business Leadership. During this conversation, we will discuss the growing need for conventional thinking about business leadership to change. We’ll cover how globalisation, climate change, and consumer demands for transparency are all shifting the landscape for businesses, prompting leaders to consider not only profits, but also people and the planet.

To ensure a sustainable and inclusive future, we need ethical leadership from all facets of society to work together, but how are today’s purpose-driven business leaders approaching this landscape? And what will bold business leadership look like in the future?

Join us March 20 to hear brief talks from each of our guest speakers, Tore Lærdal, Managing Director of Lærdal Global Health, Tharald Nustad, Founder of Nordic Impact, and Susan Hagerty Bonsak, Business Executive Officer at Nespresso Norway. Then stay for a discussion and Q&A conducted by our moderator, Stine Lise Hattestad Bratsberg, CEO of Pure Consulting. We’ll also be announcing the winners of the 2019 Oslo Business for Peace Award.

Programme

Each speaker will give a brief talk, followed by a Q&A. The bar will be open for mingling afterwards too. If you are not in Oslo, stay tuned to our livestream and engage with out social media channels for live updates from the event.

17:00-18:00 Doors open, come mingle and get settled

18:00-19:00 Talk and discussion

19:00-late Stay for a drink and continue the conversation

Location: MESH, Tordenskiolds gate, 0160 Oslo

About the Speakers

Susan Hagerty Bonsak is a seasoned executive and leader, having successfully started, reshaped, developed and boosted many divisions and companies. She has had the pleasure of working with and learning from some great people, as well as motivating and helping others realize their potential. She has worked with FMCG, high-tech and telecom companies, whether being start-ups, family-run companies or large corporations. She believes at the end of the day it really is all about the people and the company – not the sector, industry or type of organization – that makes a company exciting to work with. Passion, ethics, vision, curiosity are essential ingredients for companies! Experiencing and learning how companies can make an impact on communities and the world is simply inspiring.

Tore Lærdal is the Executive Chairman of Lærdal Medical, the global leader in resuscitation training and therapy products, and a 2016 Oslo Business for Peace Award Honouree. Lærdal Global Health is a non-profit affiliate of Lærdal Medical, and provides affordable products to help save lives from birth in poor countries. The goal of the group is to save 500,000 lives per year by 2020. Mr. Lærdal is an example of how linking business to a wider, social purpose can create exceptional results – for both business and society.

Tharald Nustad is the founder of Nordic Impact. He is a tech entrepreneur and investor focusing on impact technology. He works closely with Ashoka helping social entrepreneurs, and leads Mallin, a family office focusing on Impact real estate development and investing in impact funds. Tharald is founder and chairman of Plastilin, an incubator that starts, develops and invests in tech and communication businesses. He also invests in early stage impact startups with a tech foundation through his personal investment arm Nordic Impact, including the Katapult ecosystem.

Stine Lise Hattestad Bratsberg is the CEO of Pure Consulting and a former Olympic gold medalist of freestyle skiing. She has 20 years of experience in developing business strategies and communication addressing sustainable development.

This year, Business for Peace has launched an afterwork series with MESH in Oslo. Following our first event, The Future of Cities, we’re happy to announce our second afterwork talk, The Future of Climate Leadership. During this conversation, we will explore what role businesses have to play in shifting the economy to avert impending crises caused by climate change. We will also address how businesses and civil society are working to reduce negative environmental impact and how they plan to take the lead in revolutionising our societies to be part of the solution.

Join us 21 February at 18:00 for expert business perspectives from Anders Lennartsson, Sustainability Manager at IKEA Norway and Jan Kristensen, Vice President and Head of Supply Chain Sustainability and Environment/Climate at Telenor Group. Additionally, Karoline Andaur, Deputy CEO of WWF Norway, will join to represent the views of civil society. More speakers to be announced soon.

The event is fully booked. If you haven’t gotten a ticket, you can come to MESH at 17:30, prior to the start of the event. We’ll place you on a waitlist and you’ll be let in after ticket holders at 18:00, if space permits.

Programme

Each speaker will give a brief talk, followed by a Q&A. The bar will be open for mingling afterwards too. If you are not in Oslo, stay tuned to our social media channels for live updates from the event.

17:30-18:00 Doors open

18:00-19:00 Talk and discussion

19:00-late Mingling and informal conversation

Location: MESH, Tordenskiolds gate, 0160 Oslo

About the Speakers

AndersLennartsson is working as sustainability manager at IKEA Norway. IKEA has a goal of becoming climate positive and 100% circular in 2030, and Anders is co-leading the transformation towards a more sustainable IKEA Norway together with all 3000+ co-workers. He has extensive experience at IKEA, with sustainability functioning as the green thread. Before coming to Norway three years ago, he held the role of health and sustainability manager for IKEA’s global food business.

Jan Kristensen is the Vice President and Head of Supply Chain Sustainability and Environment/Climate at Telenor Group. Over the last ten years, Jan has worked with environmental and climate related issues, with a special focus on how the ICT industry’s technology and smart services, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), has the potential to cut global carbon emissions, reduce the intensive use of resources, stimulate economic growth and deliver substantial social benefits.

Karoline Andaur has worked with the World Wildlife Fund since 2009 and is now WWF Norway’s Deputy CEO. She has also previously worked for Norway’s Parliamentary Committee. While in charge of WWF’s business sector work, Karoline and her team explored essential questions, such as how do we achieve the green shift? And how do we reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030? She believes the world faces challenges that demand cooperation across borders and sectors.

About Business for Peace

The vision of the Business for Peace Foundation is that all business leaders have as their purpose to improve society. This requires being ”businessworthy” – in an ethical and responsible way creating value both for business and society.